The things she can't live without

Act, cook, write, sing: Gwyneth Paltrow famously loves to do it all. So it comes as no surprise to hear that she is also a serious design buff. Last year, she and her husband, rocker Chris Martin of the band Coldplay, combined two London townhouses with the help of his architect brother, Al Martin. They restored the period details and added such funky touches as a rumpus room for the couple's two children and a skull-and-crossbones motif on the library's mantel. Paltrow—whose lifestyle website GOOP will release iPad and iPhone apps this fall—may one day design her own furniture and tabletop collections. "That's kind of the dream," she says. "Maybe when the kids are older." See some of Gwyneth's favorites here and check out the September issue of ELLE DECOR, on newsstands August 16, for the rest.